Electronic location-based mapping systems are useful for allowing users to generate graphical map images for a wide variety of geographical locations. In general, in response to being provided with an address or other unique identifier (e.g., phone number), an electronic location-based mapping system generates a graphical map on a computer screen, for example, which the user can print, if desired. Many such mapping systems are accessible over wide area networks, such as the Internet. One exemplary known mapping service is at www.mapquest.com. Other known location-based mapping systems wirelessly provide graphical maps to automotive navigational systems, such as, for example, On-Star™.
There are also known location-based mapping systems that are configured to provide and display mapping information to handheld devices, such as cellular telephones, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like. These handheld devices may communicate with the mapping system wirelessly or through a wired connection to a computer, such as through a docking station or cradle, for example. While it is convenient for users to be able to obtain mapping information through a handheld device, the relatively small display screen on many handheld devices limits the size of the map image that can be displayed, and, as a result, limits their usefulness. For example, because of the limited area on the screen of a handheld device, relatively little mapping detail, such as roads, street names, city/town names, etc., can be shown at any given time without unduly crowding the map image on the screen. Typically, the name of the largest cites and streets are shown to the exclusion of smaller towns and streets.
Another limitation of known location-based mapping systems for handheld devices is that they do not customize the graphical mapping information to the various handheld devices available in the market. A wide variety of different types and models of handheld devices are commercially-available, each potentially having a different type of display screen with different performance specifications, such as different sizes, resolutions, accepted graphic compression formats, available memory and zoom capabilities. Accordingly, a map image may appear overly-congested and unintelligible on one handheld device and may not use the full space or resolution capabilities on another handheld device.
The embodiments described herein were developed in view of the drawbacks and limitations described above.